Chicago school bans lunches from home

[Amby 490]

Packing school lunches for kids every day is no doubt a chore. But what if you weren’t allowed to?

One Chicago school has banned lunches brought from home, the Chicago Tribune reports. Administrators at Little Village Academy, a public school, say the policy is all in the name of good health. Principal Elsa Carmona told the Tribune she created the policy after watching students bring "bottles of soda and flaming hot chips" for their lunch.

"It's about the nutrition and the excellent quality food that they are able to serve (in the lunchroom). It's milk versus a Coke,” Carmona said.

Some kids and parents at the school beg to differ about the food quality, saying it doesn't taste good, and the Tribune reported that dozens of kids threw food in the garbage, uneaten. We don't know what's on the menu at Little Village, but these photos of "an enchilada dish" are less than appealing. And really, when is the last time you sampled delicious fare in a school cafeteria? (I am forever haunted by the glue-like yellowish thing my elementary school called lemon pudding.)

Recipes aside, the policy leaves a bad taste in the mouth for plenty of other reasons.

Unless a student has a medical excuse to bring food from home, the only option other than eating cafeteria food is to eat nothing. (Think those kids will ace a quiz on an empty stomach?) And does something like glucose intolerance merit a medical excuse? What about vegetarianism?

Cost is another matter. What if parents don't want to spend money on school lunch because they can send less expensive food from home?

Little Village Academy has good intentions of nutritional tough love. But have they gone too far?

What do you think? Should schools be able to ban homemade lunches?

http://moms.today.com/_news/2011/04/12/6455349-cafeteria-chaos-school-bans-lunches-from-home-

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

There is no way this could work. There are too many diet variations beyond medical reasons.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Packing school lunches for kids every day is no doubt a chore. But what if you weren’t allowed to?

One Chicago school has banned lunches brought from home, the Chicago Tribune reports. Administrators at Little Village Academy, a public school, say the policy is all in the name of good health. Principal Elsa Carmona told the Tribune she created the policy after watching students bring "bottles of soda and flaming hot chips" for their lunch.

"It's about the nutrition and the excellent quality food that they are able to serve (in the lunchroom). It's milk versus a Coke,” Carmona said.

Some kids and parents at the school beg to differ about the food quality, saying it doesn't taste good, and the Tribune reported that dozens of kids threw food in the garbage, uneaten. We don't know what's on the menu at Little Village, but these photos of "an enchilada dish" are less than appealing. And really, when is the last time you sampled delicious fare in a school cafeteria? (I am forever haunted by the glue-like yellowish thing my elementary school called lemon pudding.)

Recipes aside, the policy leaves a bad taste in the mouth for plenty of other reasons.

Unless a student has a medical excuse to bring food from home, the only option other than eating cafeteria food is to eat nothing. (Think those kids will ace a quiz on an empty stomach?) And does something like glucose intolerance merit a medical excuse? What about vegetarianism?

Cost is another matter. What if parents don't want to spend money on school lunch because they can send less expensive food from home?

Little Village Academy has good intentions of nutritional tough love. But have they gone too far?

What do you think? Should schools be able to ban homemade lunches?

http://moms.today.com/_news/2011/04/12/6455349-cafeteria-chaos-school-bans-lunches-from-home-

Welcome to the world of "Politically Correct". This is another example of left wing lib ####### gone too far. They aren't happy until they control everything...including what your children eat. How nice it is to have the government telling parents how to raise their kids, and what their kids can and cannot eat.

Anyone ever read George Orwell's book "1984" ?

Edited April 13, 2011 by Why_Me

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

With this type of garbage, I could suddenly become a huge fan of vouchers. I'd do what it takes to get my kid outta there. Healthy is not precisely what comes to mind when I think of school lunches in this country.

[lostinblue 1,989]

Welcome to the world of "Politically Correct". This is another example of left wing lib ####### gone too far. They aren't happy until they control everything...including what your children eat. How nice it is to have the government telling parents how to raise their kids, and what their kids can and cannot eat.

Anyone ever read George Orwell's book "1984" ?

What they do want, more than anything else, is social power. They want control over every living human being without question. All other concerns are secondary."

The liberal elite ... know that the people simply cannot be trusted; that they are incapable of just and fair self-government; that left to their own devices, their society will be racist, sexist, homophobic, and inequitable -- and the liberal elite know how to fix things. They are going to help us live the good and just life, even if they have to lie to us and force us to do it. And they detest those who stand in their way."

- A Nation Of Cowards, by Jeffrey R. Snyder

[Darnell 8,478]

Chicago is a weird place for politics - and isn't Little Village Academy 'barely' a public school? IE - it's a chartered school, yes? no ?

Perhaps the parents will get involved with the menus, or The Naked Chef will come in for a Consult ?

[TBoneTX 45,498]

If there has to be "public" education at all, then let the tax funds attach themselves to the CHILD rather than to the school or the District. We'd see some loud-&-clear school choice then, si man.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

There is no way this could work. There are too many diet variations beyond medical reasons.

True. I'd say this is also more about the school trying to find more 'creative' ways of generating income than it is about ideology.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Let's not bring Hitler into it, shall we. It's a trite reference at the best of times.

[ONA 133]

Anyone ever read George Orwell's book "1984" ?

And although, I don't think that the school's policy is right, what kind of parents pack chips and soda for their kid's lunch? Is that true or is it just what the school says, justifying their lunch-policy?

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

All in the name of good health.

THIS is what happens when the government even gets close to health care. It is not enough that they try to scare people into believeing Republicans want to "starve children" when they try to fight the latest increase for school lunches (there are no "cuts" only smaller amounts of increases) Now they must first make you dependent on schools (government) for lunch. They hate the idea of even someone being able to make lunch for their children.

The scary thing is that whatever we DO have in this country was built by people that brought lunch to school in brown paper bags, ran with scissors, rode in the car standing on the front seat between Mom AND Dad and slept on their stomachs without a baby monitor. we also played with mercury when thermometers broke and had good old lead based paint on our walls!

What are going to look forward to?

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

If there has to be "public" education at all, then let the tax funds attach themselves to the CHILD rather than to the school or the District. We'd see some loud-&-clear school choice then, si man.

Except the people who claim to be "pro-choice" are not. Not when it comes to choosing what school my tax money goes to. And to suggest it is health related is to ignore that no matter what education I choose to pay for my child, I still have to buy their stupid "big mac" education.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

All in the name of good health.

THIS is what happens when the government even gets close to health care. It is not enough that they try to scare people into believeing Republicans want to "starve children" when they try to fight the latest increase for school lunches (there are no "cuts" only smaller amounts of increases) Now they must first make you dependent on schools (government) for lunch. They hate the idea of even someone being able to make lunch for their children.

The scary thing is that whatever we DO have in this country was built by people that brought lunch to school in brown paper bags, ran with scissors, rode in the car standing on the front seat between Mom AND Dad and slept on their stomachs without a baby monitor. we also played with mercury when thermometers broke and had good old lead based paint on our walls!

What are going to look forward to?

Apparently we get to look forward to even more hyperbole. Hitler has even been invoked, but it's still early days

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Apparently we get to look forward to even more hyperbole. Hitler has even been invoked, but it's still early days

What you fail to realize, is ignoring a symptom only leads to more of the same.

We see this every day in society. People grab that inch and then when no one stops them from keeping that inch, they reach out for miles.